TPP Weekly Rewind

Monday, August 23 – Friday, August 27

TPP Week-In-Review

• On Monday, Sam discussed the importance of politicians explicitly stating their political philosophies before urging President Obama to read The Public Philosopher; TPP intern Charles explained the view that a debate over first principles and the role of government has eclipsed the ‘culture wars’ over abortion and gay marriage; in another post, he argued that European countries ought to integrate the Roma;
• On Wednesday, TPP intern Han criticized some attempts to alter the Constitution by arguing against ‘Founding Father-ism’; TPP intern Ethan defended video games against people like British Defense Secretary Liam Fox, who called for a ban of the most recent Medal of Honor game
• On Thursday, TPP intern Charles investigated seeming Western news media indifference towards terrible Pakistani floods; and Jake explored the meaning of ‘moderate Islam‘ in light of a recent Ross Douthat piece

In Others’ Words

• A Korea Times article on the release of Michael Sandel’s new book on moral reasoning provided an interesting glimpse into East Asia’s regard for ethics, and philosophy in general
• Another article from Mainichi Daily News similarly illustrates the popularity of philosophy and philosophers in East Asia
• For Victoria Advocate, Raymond Smith decried the world’s fall into depravity
• Nina Rosenstand from Philosophy on the Mesa returned from vacation and jumped into a discussion of moral naturalism
• A user at Heathen-Hub pointed us to a talk on the ethics research of Eric Schwitzegebel and Joshua Knobe
• Philosophy In A Time of Error linked to an interesting attack advertisement against Immanuel Kant
• Tehran Times offered an interview with Eric Thomas Weber, who believes that John Rawls returned Western philosophers’ attention to the notion of the social contract
• Guest blogger Ryan Berg wrote for Capitolism on the relationship between the philosophical notion of ‘fairness’ and the Bush tax cuts
• Daniel McCarthy for The American Conservative discussed the issues at heart of the upcoming book, The Dilemmas of American Conservatism, and connected the thinking of Willmoore Kendall with that of Murray Rothbard
• A recent Politico article asks “What is Obama’s philosophy?”
• And then a recent Salon article criticized that Politico piece, before exploring the same issue

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TPP Weekly Rewind

Monday, August 16 – Friday, August 20

TPP Week-In-Review

• On Monday, Luke analyzed another of Ross Douhat’s writings, in which the New York Times columnist defended against criticisms of his recent anti-gay marriage article; in light of President Obama’s entrance into the Ground Zero mosque debate, TPP intern Jonathan explored the distinction between moral and legal permissibility; TPP intern Charles indicated interesting questions and helpful resources concerning the mosque at Ground Zero; and TPP intern Han criticized some tea party groups’ opposition to net neutrality, but offered them an alternative strategy on their behalf
• On Tuesday, Sam disparaged the news media for their handling of the Ground Zero mosque subject, and claimed that they are failing to encourage the proper sort of discussion
• On Wednesday, John found fault with a recent article on online-education by Anya Kamenetz, and explored the potential impact of technology on educational institutions; and Sam shared a fun series of quizzes created by social psychologists to evaluate your moral character
• On Thursday, TPP intern Charles condemned teachers’ unions as overpowered, and suggested that they need transparency and increased accountability for their members

In Others’ Words

• Kevin Drum and Matthew Yglesias both wrote on the subject of Charles’ post on Thursday: Los Angeles public school teachers, and teachers’ unions
• Much like Sam in his post on Tuesday, Dwight Furrow over at Philosophy On The Mesa explained ‘Why Our Political Discourse Sucks’
• Clive Hamilton discussed moderation in Australian national politics for The Australian
• Douglas Vicenzi at Liberals Are Cool claimed that ‘limited government’ is an incoherent political philosophy
• For Intellectual Conservative, Bill Wavering examined the status of today’s progressives in politics, and observed that they were trying to redefine ‘prosperity’ much as they redefined ‘deviancy’ in the 1990’s
• The Legal Theory Blog continues its Legal Theory Lexicon series by defining and explaining ‘utilitarianism’
• Michael Vass at Vass Political Blog saw a little bit of the American spirit in a John Wayne film, and criticized contemporary America for being un-American
• According to Space Politics, some Floridian politicians have been proving some political stereotypes false
• Mike Gibson at Let a Thousand Nations Bloom provided a list of some of the most underrated texts in political philosophy

TPP Weekly Rewind

Monday 9-Friday 13

TPP Week-In-Review

• On Monday, Sam asked whether we ought to get rid of the Senate; Luke raised difficult questions about homosexual parents; and TPP intern Charles discussed the moral responsibility of soldiers following orders
• On Tuesday, TPP intern Ethan argued in defense of the 14th amendment; Jake described what makes for a good argument against gay marriage; and Sam explained how the fact that politics requires money might be a problem for our democracy
• On Thursday, TPP intern Han asked why some want to grant citizenship to illegal immigrants who are also students
• On Friday, TPP intern Charles examined the responsibility and irresponsibility of people living in poverty and how that should impact public policy

In Others’ Words

• Jean Kazez at In Living Color commented on the same piece Jake discussed in his post
• Daniel Little at Understanding Society shared a cool mind map of Rousseau’s political philosophy, as well as some interesting thoughts
• The Philosophers’ Magazine continued their best ideas of the century series
• American Creation offered another excerpt from Robert P. Hunt’s Christianity, Leo Strauss, and the Modern/Ancient Distinction
• Death By 1000 Papercuts announced the creation of a new conservative website, The Moral Liberal
• BBC News related philosophy and Spider-Man
• One of the writers at The Political Inquirer advocated raising the voting age to 30
• At Political Pundits, Shaughan Dolan discussed the moral shortcomings of New Liberalism
• Edward Feser celebrated Consequentialism Day at What’s Wrong With The World
• Toby Ord at Practical Ethics analyzed the ethics behind antibiotics prescriptions
• Philosophy Bites released a new podcast with Hillel Steiner, who defined and explained exploitation
• Ralph Wedgewood at PEA Soup argued that there are unknowable moral truths
• John Quiggin at Crooked Timber analyzed the idea of a libertarian utopia

TPP Weekly Rewind

TPP Week-In-Review

• On Monday, Sam examined the United Arab Emirates’ decision to block online data usage for smart phones; Jake pointed to some interesting remarks concerning the mosque at Ground Zero; and TPP intern Charles raised some questions concerning performance and reward in the public sector
• On Tuesday, Sam criticized potential exploitation of the congressional lame-duck period; Luke agreed with a comparison between WikiLeaks and the Rolling Stone article on General McChrystal; TPP intern Ethan argued that a Georgia graduate student should be compelled to take courses to instill tolerance of LGBTQ persons; and TPP intern Han presented a case against International Burn the Quran Day, before he examined clean water as a fundamental human right in a separate post
• On Wednesday, Jake highlighted stimulating parts of New York City Mayor Bloomberg’s speech in support of the Ground Zero mosque
• On Thursday, John disagreed with a Slate front-page article to argue that corporations  do not have obligations to the larger economy, and TPP intern Charles explained California’s Proposition 8 in the context of the larger gay marriage issue
• On Friday, TPP intern Han scrutinized several interpretations of US plans to send an ambassador to the ceremony marking the anniversary of the WWII Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings

In Others’ Words

• Mark Vernon for The Guardian reviewed Tariq Ramadan’s new book, in which the Muslim philosopher discusses pluralism and diversity
• Shah Gilani of Money Morning thought America is turning into another banana republic
• Tim Holland investigated for To The Center whether or not Tea Party supporters really ought to venerate Calvin Coolidge
• The Atlantic’s The Daily Dish discussed the Muslim center at Ground Zero, and points to some other interesting reading
• The American Political Science Association announced its awards for 2010
• At informIT, Tom Head presented ‘A Short Guide to the Ethics and Etiquette of Online Activism’
• American Creation offered an interesting excerpt from Robert Hunt’s essay ‘Christianity, Leo Strauss, and the Ancients/Moderns Distinction’
• A Yahoo!Answers user got some funny responses after asking ‘What is the political philosophy of people who shop at Whole Foods?’
• At The Huffington Post, Jeff Schweitzer established The Mocha Cappuccino Party
• Chic Hollis wrote on the American sense of entitlement for News Blaze
• Xenocrates at Glenn Beck’s Socratic Discourse explained Glenn Beck’s thoughts on the unity of philosophy

TPP Weekly Rewind

TPP Week-In-Review

• On Monday, Sam argued WikiLeaks was in for a lot of trouble, and TPP intern Charles dissected the recent extension of unemployment benefits
• On Tuesday, Luke suggested that people living in poverty don’t actually get to choose what food they eat, and then criticized an online New York Times interactive feature; TPP intern Charles raised some questions concerning justice and the Cambodian Holocaust; TPP intern Han disparaged reporting ‘fringe ideas’ in the political realm, and insisted in a separate post that we might not owe too much to future generations
• On Wednesday, John criticized the way the Obama administration wants to do business with for-profit colleges; TPP intern Ethan chastised WikiLeaks as careless; and TPP intern Jonathan compared WikiLeaks to other publications
• On Thursday, John made a cool announcement
• On Friday, Jake dissected the different ethical perspectives to be considered concerning former chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Charlie Rangel; TPP intern Han pointed to a connection between hands and ethics; and TPP intern Charles discussed an unfortunate connection between psychology and politics

In Others’ Words

• Michael Ruse wrote for The Huffington Post’s Religion and Science blog that science is beating out religion
• David Gushee maintained that libertarianism does not groove well with Christian principles
• Kyle Olson ranted against civil rights organizations and unions for Big Government
• Dickh at Richard Howe explained why he won’t shop at Target any longer
• Carbondale Chasmite at The Chasm discussed his love for conservative philosophers
• Robert Wolffe shared the final installment of his introductory series on game theory and related fields
• Guest columnist Betty Roberts described how to properly judge a justice
• Aaron Connelly warned at Jakarta Globe that President Obama’s political philosophy might get him in trouble in East Asia

-Jonathan

TPP Weekly Rewind

TPP Week-In-Review

• On Monday, Sam chastised the US Intelligence community in favor of The Washington Post, and TPP intern Charles wondered how much we can reasonably limit free speech
• On Tuesday, TPP intern Jonathan suggested that many citizens have a bad memory
• On Wednesday, TPP intern Han distinguished three conceptions of ‘just desert’ in light of a New York Times‘ op-ed lamenting a rising American aristocracy, and then suggested another justification for state laws criminalizing HIV transmission
• On Thursday, TPP intern Charles argued that we ought to allow the construction of a mosque and Muslim community center two blocks from Ground Zero; Luke examined Republican Senator Lindsey Graham’s decision to support Elena Kagan’s nomination to the Supreme Court, despite ideological differences; and TPP intern Ethan insisted that the argument over national standards in public education belies a debate over the nature of education itself
• On Friday, TPP intern Han considered pointed to a Newsweek story in order to connect the concepts of fairness and desert, and Jake criticized moral naturalism for failing to answer an important question

In Others’ Words

• Michael Smith asserted in an op-ed for News Herald that modern liberals are not who they think they are
• In the ‘Religion and Ethics’ section of ABC’s Australian site, Stanley Hauerwas claimed that America’s god is dying
• Robert Wolff shared another installment of his introductory series on game theory and related fields
• Herbert Gintis at Cato Unbound explained an interesting relationship between evolutionary biology and political philosophy
• Phil at A Very Public Sociologist discussed the relationship between radical politics and listening
• Youtube user CollegeBinary posted a three-minute summary of Immanuel Kant
• Some folks on Facebook suggested an interesting way to put the corpus of Ayn Rand to good use
• Neil Levy at Practical Ethics examined a recent study (which TPP has written about previously) that suggests people are often more likely to believe false information than true information
• Stephen Neale spoke about meaning and interpretation for Philosophy Bites‘ newest podcast

TPP Weekly Rewind

TPP Week-In-Review

• On Saturday, in light of a recent soy meal importation case in Europe, TPP intern Charles wondered at the scope and effect of patent laws
• On Monday, Sam examined President Obama’s legislative buck-passing, and argued that we ought to consider limiting that sort of behavior
• On Tuesday, Marc pointed us to an intriguing article from The Washington Post on the alleged racism of the ‘tan tax’; TPP intern Jonathan exposed some deeper questions hidden in a recent post on The New York Times’ The Stone; and TPP intern Ethan evaluated an argument against veganism in favor of vegetarianism
• On Wednesday, TPP intern Han commented on an arguably depressing article from The Boston Globe about a psychological (but politically-relevant) phenomenon called ‘backfire’; TPP intern Charles raised some questions about an article that argued inequality was the root cause of the recent economic crisis; and in reaction to a New York Times piece, John discussed line between security and privacy and local communities’ role in drawing that line
• On Thursday, TPP intern Charles considered various arguments about recent Arizona legislation’s effect on the rule of law and compared prohibiting immigration to prohibiting alcohol; and TPP intern Ethan powerfully criticized the US, and demanded a full program of nuclear disarmament
• On Friday, TPP intern Han questioned the motivation behind a current Knesset bill intended to fine those who incite boycotts against Israel, and Jake argued in favor of international espionage over anti-spying laws

In Others’ Words

• Professor Robert Wolff shared a couple installments of his introductory series on game theory and related fields
• Ilya Somin at The Volokh Conspiracy had something else to say about ‘liberaltarianism’
• The Philosophy of Science Portal posted Playboy Magazine’s 1964 interview with Ayn Rand
• Nicholas Smith The Philosophers’ Magazine wrote about reason and Hegel
• Ned Resnikoff from Salon discussed the word ‘progressive’ and the ignorance of Americans on the Left
• W. Wong at Hummings in the Fly-Bottle compared philosophy to masturbation
• The Tehran Times offeredan interview with Michigan University Professor Elizabeth Anderson on the potential for faith-based conversation to facilitate diplomacy
• Yorktown University’s Yorktown Patriot wondered when the ‘Conservative Movement’ ended
• Nog from Nogburt’s Blog explained why he hates talking heads
• Tim Soutphommasane from The Australian discussed the importance of the character and flavor of political discourse in a democracy

TPP Weekly Rewind

TPP Week-In-Review

• On Tuesday, Marc explored the suggestion that we periodically rewrite the US Constitution, TPP intern Jonathan pondered religion’s effects on political discourse, and Luke suggested that patriotism might not be all it’s cracked up to be
• On Wednesday, TPP intern Han introduced and criticized some iPhone apps that help us debate the existence of God, TPP intern Ethan doubted that robots like Paro should be used to comfort the mentally ill, John offered another look at the iPhone apps Han disparaged, and Sam asked some questions concerning the place of ‘loyalty’ in ethical thinking
• On Thursday, TPP intern Han rejected the importance of historical knowledge in understanding political institutions and in making political arguments
• On Friday, Daniel considered the compatibility of liberalism, democracy, and Islam, while Jake begged Han to read his history books

In Others’ Words

• The New York Times’ Dot Earth blog sat down with Professor Donald A. Brown to discuss environmental ethics
• Thinking Matters took a look at Peter Singer, the Euthyphro Dilemma, and Divine Command theory
• Intellectual Conservative predicted the future of conservatives’ regard for William F. Buckley
• Robert Wolff gave the third installment of his introductory series on game theory and related fields
• Mytheos Halt at ParcBench didn’t think Rand Paul should support Michael Steele
• The Western Confucian pointed out some connections between Saint Robert Bellarmine and the Founding Fathers
• Born Again Redneck was awestruck at an Australian politician who quotes John Locke and JS Mill
• According to Professor Leiter at Leiter Reports, The New York Times’ philosophy blog, called The Stone, will soon be getting some ‘stronger’ philosophers to contribute
• Apparently, 26% of American residents do not know that US declared its independence from Great Britain
• Oxford’s Practical Ethics blog took a look at the Paro robot and asks some questions similar to those TPP intern Ethan posed on Wednesday.
• Richard Chappell at Philosphy, et cetera compared two different kinds of ‘average utilitarianism’
• UNC Professor Susan Wolf spoke on ‘meaning in life’ for Philosophy Bites
• Dowell at PEA Soup offered a solution to a problem concerning ‘ought’s and ‘if’s
• According to Ethics ETC, The Journal of Applied Philosophy will award an annual prize the best article in each year’s Volume
• The University of Toronto decided to close down its Center for Ethics

TPP Weekly Rewind

TPP Week-In-Review

• On Monday, Sam insisted that confirmation hearings are unfair and prejudiced, but nonetheless necessary
• On Tuesday, Marc gave us another reason to laugh at the FBI
• On Wednesday, John reflected on The Stone’s response to a very important question, and TPP intern Han advocated a strict set of standards for US rules of engagement in the Near East
• On Thursday, TPP intern Charles argued in light of the Supreme Court’s recent McDonald v. Chicago decision that political sympathies help determine one’s responses to social science problems, then recommended that we ought to support Ghana’s World Cup run on utilitarian grounds, and Jake pointed us to a strong critique of Singapore’s and China’s education systems
• On Friday, Jake broke down the underlying conflicts between Paul Berman and Mark Lynch, Berman’s Foreign Affairs reviewer, while Luke employed two very different political theories to consider when espionage might be morally justified and Han suggested that we might still want to criticize Senator Robert Byrd for his racist past

In Others’ Words

• According to Oxford’s Practical Ethics, some Harvard psychologists asserted that there is, despite appearances to the contrary, a universal moral code
• The Los Angeles Times described Elena Kagan’s confirmation hearings as an interesting time for politicians to have a discussion of political theories
• Ortho Cuban advocated sophisticated evaluation over quick opining
• Public Reason announced that a new journal, Theoretical and Applied Ethics, is looking for applicants to fill their editorial board
• Folks at Philosophy Forums discussed the validity and defensibility of ethical nihilism
• The Washington Post’s Michael Gerson suggested that our public discourse has headed down the wrong sort of path, and Rod Dreher writes in response
• Political Philosopher Paul Wolff began running an introductory series on game theory and related fields
• PEA Soup released another installment of their discussion with Ethics on “Moral Rationalism and Rational Amoralism”
• The Philosophy Smoker considers whether or not multiple-choice tests have a place in philosophy courses

TPP Weekly Rewind

TPP Week-In-Review

On Monday, in the wake of Father’s Day, Sam dissected the political issues underlying President Obama’s Fatherhood and Mentoring Initiative and argued that most Americans have views on government and parenting that are similar to Obama’s

On Tuesday, Marc highlighted our tendency to prioritize American lives over those of Afghans or Iraqis, a Foreign Policy in Focus article on the subject, and added some relevant thoughts of his own; Jake defended Obama’s pragmatism and presidential image in the face of national catastrophes against the criticism from The Washington Post; and Sam disagreed with David Brooks on why Americans are frustrated with progressive economic initiatives

On Wednesday, Sam maintained that FIFA ought to improve its officiating to secure the legitimacy of and loyalty to the game’s rules, and John supported BP’s right to hire lobbyists in Washington

On Thursday, TPP intern Jonathan suggested in light of the firing of General McChrystal that not all dissent is necessarily good dissent

On Friday, Luke disagreed with the New York Times’ Stanley Fish and argued that student opinion ought to be taken seriously when evaluating professors, Marc wondered whether or not the media ought to embarrass criminal suspects, and TPP intern Han points to the notion of moral intent in order to disagree with the conclusion of Foreign Policy in Focus’ Adil Shamoo

In Others’ Words

Some folks at Philosophy Forums discussed the potential drawbacks of letting your moral code become your way of life

The Philosophers’ Magazine issued the second of five pieces on the best ideas of the 21st century

The Clyde Fitch Report wondered about the influence of Ayn Rand, and considered a new play called Ideal

Nicholas Byron Hall at Helium listed what he thinks are the best ethical philosophy texts

Paul Newell at The Galilean Library defined ethics and its various subfields, and described fundamental ethical positions and tenets in the West

Newsvine described the contemporary collision between ethical humanism and religion

Anarchist Writers argued that the development of revolutionary syndicalism can be explained without appeal to Marxism

The Political Bookworm at The Washington Post recommended some must-read books for conservatives

According to The Wall Street Journal, Japan is crazy about ethical philosophy

If you’re a fan of philosophy, American culture or history, or Westerners, check out this Chicago Sun-Times article on Professor Robert Pippin and his book, Hollywood Westerns and American Myth

Aaron Schwartz at Raw Thought saw a lot of political philosophy in Disney’s latest film, Toy Story 3 (although some commentators over at Hacker News seemed to disagree)

-Jonathan

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  Jacob Bronsther is a law student at NYU. He has an MPhil in Political Theory from Oxford.

• Sam Gill is a consultant in DC. He studied Political Theory at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.

• Marc Grinberg is a Presidential Management Fellow. He studied Political Theory at Oxford.

• John Rood is founder of Next Step Test Prep. He has an AM in Political Theory from Chicago.

• Luke Freedman is studying Philosophy and Political Science at Carleton College.

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